Modern Day Slavery

It Never Left:

Most people like to think that Slavery was abolished when Abraham Lincoln signed the document in 1865, and as much as I’m sure we would all like to believe that; it wasn’t. Slavery is just as bad now as it was before Lincoln. Millions of people are being used as slaves and are constantly being trafficked. About 21-36 million people are enslaved world wide today.

6 Ways:

There are six forms of slavery. These include; bonded labour, child slavery, early and forced marriage, descent based slavery, and trafficking.

Illegal, Yet Common:

Slavery is happening everywhere around the world, even though it is illegal. From the U.S., to Northern India, Southern Sudan. and England. About 14,500 people are being trafficked into the U.S. each year. The two places in which slavery is most common are Asian and African countries.

We Can End It:

It is possible to put an end to these horrific acts, but only if everyone helps. In 25 years slavery could be gone if we try to stop it now, but if we continue to live like this slavery might never end.

Helia From Haiti:

Helia was an average girl living with her mother until her mother died, she then moved to live with her grandmother until her grandmother passed away as well. Helia was then taken in by a neighbor and it all went downhill from there. This particular neighbor believed that since Helia had no family she should be treated like an animal. This women made Helia do all the cleaning in her  house and abused her both physically and mentally. Helia was not allowed to go to school, so her learning was put on hold. Later on some of her other neighbors threatened to burn down their house, so the woman let Helia attend a class. One day Helia built up enough courage and strength to escape, and she was successful. Unfortunately she was then enslaved again. Even with all the horrific things Helia has had happened to her in her life she is now living a successful life with her husband and children. Helia is now free.

We Can’t End It Alone:

In order for slavery to be put to and end everyone across the globe needs to help. One way that people can make an impact is by learning about modern day slavery and help to educate others.  If people are more educated on this subject, they can be more aware of the signs of it and be able to report it. The more we spread the idea that it’s not a good thing the more people will be aware and be able to help. Another way people can make an impact is really enforce the laws against slavery. If the laws are better enforced and more people are punished for being involved with human trafficking the people who have not been caught yet will realize that they will be punished if they are. The more that we spread the idea that slavery is bad the quicker we can put an end to it.

(“Modern Incidence Of Slavery” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_slavery)

Sarah the Sneaky Slave

This assignment was to read an excerpt from a book about the person in which you were assigned. Then you had to summarize the story of the person you read about, explain evidence of resistance and what you learned from the excerpt.

“Sarah”

The personal story being told is about an African girl who was enslaved and put on a ship. When the slaves came onto the deck for exercise by dancing she was always lively. She appeared to have good nature and she was known as the best singer and dancer on the ship. This girl was a favorite of the captains and he gave her the biblical name Sarah. By giving her this name he was associating a slave with a beautiful princess. She was a in fact a favorite and well respected. The captain also often gave her better things than others got. On the journey there was an uprising from the slaves in order to kill the crew and take over the ship. The captain and his men thought that maybe Sarah and her mother had been a part of the planning of this uprising even though they had not actually been with the men that began it. The two women denied having been any part of the uprising. While people on the ship began to talk of their defeat they crew and captain became aware that both of the women were involved in the planning. With Sarah being the favorite she was able to get things that allowed men to get their shackles off. Sarah survived any punishments that followed her helping plan the uprising, and she was sold at Grenada. When she went ashore she brought her “African traditions of dance, song, and resistance with her.”

There was evidence of resistance in Sarah’s story, because she was highly respected by the other people on the ship; although she was known as the favorite she was not known as a snitch. Also Sarah helped plan an uprising.

In this story I learned about conditions on slave ships and relationships that can occur. I learned that the people on these ships were in shackles, but they also got exercise on the main deck. Also I learned that the Captain will sometimes have a favorite and that person will have better conditions than the rest. Also that person is can either be despised by the others, or well respected.  

(Slave Ship, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_ship)